The multiaxial articulated robot, among various industrial robots, comprises structural components including a fixed body serving as a supporting structure, a swivel body mounted on the fixed body for swivel motion, and a robot arm mechanism including a robot arm, a robot wrist, a robot hand, and end effectors such as welding tools, and pivotally joined to the swivel body. In most cases, electric motors are used as drive motors for driving the structural components for swiveI motion or swing motion. Accordingly, cables must be extended internally and externally of the robot assembly to supply power through a robot controller to the drive motors of the multiaxial articulated robot and to exchange control signals between the robot controller and detectors for positioning control. To extend the cables for such purposes, cable extending means have been proposed, but rubbing, twisting or bending of the cables when the swivel body and the robot arm mechanism are driven for swivel motion or swing motion damages the cable sheaths and may possibly break the conductors of the cables. Therefore, it is a necessary structural condition that the cable extending means are capable of preventing this rubbing, twisting and bending of the cables.
Accordingly, the cable extending means which have hitherto been proposed and provided are designed to guide the cables properly according to the intrinsic structure and mode of operation of the associated industrial robots. Nevertheless, it is difficult to provide a cable extending means universally applicable to various industrial robots; particularly, a cable extending means for a multiaxial articulated robot having a construction simplified to the utmost degree and designed for manufacture at a reduced cost must have a simple construction and must be manufactured at a reduced cost.